Numerous types of exercise devices exist, such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, stair machines, rowing machines, ski trainers, weight machines and so on. People wishing to exercise may select to purchase one or more of such devices, or may go to a gym exercise apparatus may be available for use. Gym exercise suffers various deficiencies such as excessive time for traveling to and from the gym, crowds, lines, open hours and potential cleanliness concerns.
Home exercise equipment is known, and provides for the convenience of exercising at home, addressing some deficiencies of gym exercise. However, home exercise equipment also suffers various deficiencies. One such deficiency concerns the requirement of excessive space to position and use the equipment, which diminishes the desirability of positioning exercise equipment in apartments and houses. This deficiency is exacerbated if more than one exercise machine is desired such as for different types of exercise. Of course space constraints are not just limited to home exercise, as gyms also are space limited in the number and types of exercise machines that can be fit into their available space.
Another deficiency of many known exercise devices is that they are specialized for a particular type of exercise. For example, treadmills are directed towards jogging or walking types of exercise. Weights or weight machines are directed towards weight training exercises. Rowing machines are directed towards rowing or pulling exercises. Stair machines are directed towards climbing exercises. Cross-country ski machines are directed to linear or rotary types of cross-country skiing exercises. Traverse ski machines are limited to side-to-side types of ski exercises. Thus, a person wishing to engage in multiple home exercises may need to acquire multiple pieces of exercise equipment, taking up home space. A gym seeking to provide a wide range of exercises needs to purchase and position many different types of machines, also occupying available space. Aside from the space limitations, installing multiple machines also engenders other deficiencies such as time required for set-up, specialized training of gym personnel, learning period for users, maintenance and cleaning.
Accordingly, there is a need for an exercise system that is relatively compact, that can be stored under or within furniture, and that optionally can be used for more than one type of exercise.